30 



THE NEW GENESEE FARMER, 



Vol. 3 



with a mass of etupeitdous fortifications which might 

 defy Babylon itself in a stale of insurrection. There 

 is not n weaver's garret at J^yons that has not a call- 

 noil's mouth looking down upon it, aud all these most 

 exieuaive forifications are sa d, hko those of Paris, to 

 have been erected against the foreign erwmy I and to 

 dear bread and diii^inished exports is now to be added 

 the burden of increased taxation." 



Such are the relations between countries in amity 

 with each other, as it is called. The diiferent govern- 

 ments of the world profess for each other, in their pub- 

 lic documents, the most • friendly sentiments ;' not a 

 diplomatic note is written from (>ne minister t> anoth- 

 er, that is not ns full of goodwill a^ a Moravion ser- 

 mon ; yet their whole conduct towards each other is 

 but a selfish struggle for advantages, without regard 

 to the sufferings it may cause. In the midst of these 

 mutual professions of justice, kindnesd, and bcuevo 

 lence, one nation will, without any s^irt of scruple, 

 adopt a measure which levels a deadly blow at the in- 

 dustry of another, and dooms a largo portion of its 

 liard-worUing inhabitan's, the most helpless, as well 

 as the most meritorious class, to starvation. 



This is done with the utmost coolness and uncon 

 cern ; nay it is made a matter of boast, if, in conse- 

 quence of starvation of a few thousands in another 

 country, it is thotigbt that o remote possibility exists 

 of enriching a few hundreds at homcj and he A-ho 

 should apeak of this as a wrong, or express any sym- 

 pathy lor those who are its victims, would be regard- 

 el by most men as a person of very superfine mor- 

 a'ity. 



America, for example, levies duties on the silks of 

 France, which throw the inhabitants of populous 

 French cities nut of employment. In all the discus- 

 sions which have arisen upon the question, nobody we 

 believe baa thought this view of the subject worth the 

 public attention. The grou masimof doing to others 

 as we would have them do to us, has not been thought 

 worthy of quoting in a question affecting the interests 

 af another nation. Every government, it is said, 

 should take care of its own subjects. As the world 

 ]•? now governed, this is done. When the people grow 

 tierce with hunger, the government shoot them down. 

 When the looms, which yon hear clashing in every 

 street of populous Lyons, are stilled by the check 

 which American laws have given to the exportation 

 of silks, the starving weaver, to escape the cries of his 

 children for whom he has ni food, walks out into the 

 streets, diaoonlented with the ord ;r of society, and 

 meets with others as discontented as himself. If they 

 talk of their sufferings too loudly, and with demon- 

 strations of impatience, they are arrested by men in 

 Louis Philippe's uniform ; if this does not restore 

 tranquility, there are the batteries of the enclosing for- 

 tifications ready to bo opened upon them. What is 

 tie recipe of the Britisi government for appeasing 

 the tumults caused by the starvation of the British 

 operatives? A detachment of the military, powder 

 and ball. It is thus that governn^ents take care of 

 their subjects when the legislation of other countries 

 leaves them without bread 



There is a numerous and respectable religions sect 

 who bear their testimony against war, and peace soci- 

 eties have been formed all ovei our country, of which 

 men of all denominations are members, including 

 Bome of the greatest intellecta of the age. Di not 

 this sect and these societies, vre have sometimes asked 

 ourselves, mistake their true object, and have they not 

 put the effect for the cause ? Might not their exer- 

 tions be b:!tter directed to do away that miserable con- 

 test of selfish legislation out of which spring so many 

 misunderstanJinga- so itj^ny mutual discontents, so 

 many rooted prejudices, of which actual war is but 

 the nolural consequence 7 



If wo bring famine upon the laborioits classes in 

 other countries, it matters little whether it is done by 

 n statute or an invasion ; it matters little whether we 

 point against them tlie weapons of their own govern- 

 ment or of our armies. The whole protective system, 

 as it is called, is as much a system of mutual amioy- 

 nnce as a state of wor ; the evils it inflicts are certain, 

 the benortis it brings are imaginary. It is a struggle 

 between nations to do each other harm, to cut off' the 

 brau-;hei of in lustry by which each other's populaiion 

 is fed, to exclude ea I'j other from the markets in 

 which their industry meets its fair reward. It is a 

 slee.jless warfare npju each other's prosperity, as ma- 

 lignant and almost as harmful as if it were carried on 

 with the sensible array of 7-fa.r, with ordinance and 

 batteries, with fleets and embattled hosts. Its effect 

 is to destroy property, to tnnihilate copilal, to frustrate 

 enterprise, to depopulate cties, to bring sudden desti- 

 tution np>n whole provinces. The world will never 

 c:ij ly durable peace until it ceases to be the general 

 policy of nations. 



Ou the Dilleient Breeds of Sheep. 



[co.\CI.UIIED FHOM OUR LAST.] 



In describing the Merino sheep, itnioy he advisable, 

 previous to tracing their eprsaci over other parts of 

 the world, to give some account of them as they are 

 found in Spain, their native country. 



I do not deem it at ail essential, in doing this, to go 

 far hack into the history of the Saracens, other than 

 to mention that the li-xury of the Moorish Bovereigns 

 has ever been the theme tif most writers ; and the 

 cosdinesaof their costume has,at all times,been dilated 

 upon in all tl»c glowing terms of fuble and romance. 



The expulsions of the Saracens from Spain, de- 

 stroyed, however, the woollen manufactures of that 

 country ; and we are told that Ferdinand the 5th ban- 

 ished nearly one hundred thousand industrious people, 

 because they were Moors. 



Phillip 3d, his successor, drove from Valentin one 

 hundred and forty thousand of the Mahomedan in- 

 habitants ; and in the three follov.'ing years six hun- 

 dred thousand were e.tpelled from Murcia, Seville, 

 and Granada. 



Notwithstanding the political changes of the coun- 

 try, the total loss of its manufactures, aitd the conse- 

 quent neglect with which they were treated, the Me- 

 rino sheep Bcem to have been perpetuated in all their 

 purity. 



The sheep of Spain are divided into two great 

 classes — the Stationary end the Migratory. 



The Statioinary sheep are those which remain the 

 whole year on one form or district ; while the Migra- 

 tory, are those which are driven from one pan of 

 the country to aiiotber, periodically, in search of pas- 

 lure. 



The Stationary sheep ore sifid So consist of tvvo dis- 

 tinct breeds, and a ihird or intermedials one. The 

 first is the Clamah. and is aliogelh*r different from 

 the Merino, being the breed of the peasant aud small 

 proprietor. The other principal breed of Stationary 

 sheep is, the true Merino — and the third, v\'hich are 

 found in every part of Spain, are a various mixed 

 breed, ihe produce of the two former — the value de- 

 pending upon the amount of the Merino blood in 

 them. 



The Migratory, or those which are driven to the 

 mountains in the summer, onU to the plains in the 

 south of Spoin in the winter, are the description ol 

 sheep by which so many countries have been enrich- 

 ed, and the character ot which it is here attempted to 

 explain. These, like the Stationary sheep, are divid- 

 ed into two classes, and are known as the Lconcsn, 

 and the SarianSj which names they take from the dif 

 ferent parts of the mountains to which they are driv- 

 en. It is not the intention, here, to trace the opera- 

 tions of the sheep-breeders ot Spain, or to give any 

 account of the semi-annual matches of these flocks, 

 from one extremity of the kingdom to the other ; — 

 though it is a subject well worthy the attention of the 

 :;areful and judicious farmer, in as far as climate ap- 

 pears to be of the greatest importance. These two 

 divisions of the Migratory sheep of Spain, viz : the 

 Leonese and Sorians, are again divided into particu- 

 lar breeds, as the Escnrial, Gauddoiipc, Puulars, 

 fnfantadocs, and Negretti — the last being the largest 

 and strongest of all the Spanish travelling sheep. 



The general impression made by the Jlerino sheep, 

 upon persons unacquainted vritb them, would be 

 unfavorable ; the legs being long, though small in 

 the bone ; the breast and back narrow ; the sides 

 somewhat fiat ; the ehoulders and bosoms heavy ; and 

 a considerable portion of their weight, carried on their 

 coarser pans. Both male and female hove a large 

 tuft ol hair growing on the forehead and checks, 

 which should be always cut away previous to shear- 

 ing : they have an extraordinary looseness of skin un- 

 der the neck, which gives them a Ihroaliness, which, 

 in England, is looked upon as a bad properly, while 

 in Spain il is the very reverse, and esteemed as de- 

 noting a tendency both to wool ond to a heavy fleece 

 Such throatiness is said to be characteristic of no ap- 

 titude to fallen ; but this appears to be a matter not 

 considered of snflicient importance to call attention, 

 the fleece being the only object 



In noticing ihe importations of the Merino into 

 England, which took place under the immediate pat- 

 ronage of George the 3d, it is hardly necessary to give 

 any account ol the first lot of stieep which ariivetl in 

 that country. They were picked up without that at- 

 tention to selection, which forms so important on es- 

 sential, ond consequently fell very short of the e.xpecl- 

 ation which hod been roieed upon ihem. An applica- 

 tion was then made, directly to the Spanish govern- 

 ment, for permission to purchase a small flock ; and 

 consent having been oolained, n limited number were 

 collected, of the Negretti breed, and shipped to Eng- 

 land in 1731. The product of the second and lliird 



lO^ 



shearings was compared with the best sample of in- 

 ported Spanish wool, and it yielded not to them i 

 any of the properties of fineness or felting. The som 

 comparison was kept up for many years, with equall 

 satisfactory results : and many of the most epirite 

 breeders experimented upon the eflects of crossing Uf 

 on t'src various native breeds of England, reporting tb 

 results. There appears to have been a prejudice fortr 

 ed against them, and it was thirteen years after th 

 arrival of the Negretti flock, before it was thougl Jjp 

 prudent to expose any of them to public sale. It 

 not my intention to detail the Merino mania whic 

 followed : it is enough to mention that a society w! 

 established, with Sir Joseph Bonks as its Presiden 

 wUh Jiflti-four Vice Presidenls, ond local committei 

 in every county in England, Scotland, Wales, oil 

 Ireland: expensive premiums were awarded, ar 

 every inducement offered to persuade the farme 

 generally to give the preference to this breed of shee 

 Their decay in the public estimation, however, b. 

 came as rapid and as extensive, as their value on tl 

 olher hand had been overrated — and that for the mo 

 simple of all reasons. The British people ore, omong 

 some olher peculiarities, especiolly eaters of mvtlon 

 and, to suite their tastes, every thing has been ove 

 looked to produce a sheep for the butcher ; and in th 

 respect the Merino is entirely deficient. The carca 

 did not afford a remnneratory price, and they we 

 consequently obondoned. Again, the British sho 

 wools, ihat is, the Southdown, &c. though not in iii 

 for the finest of broadcloths, are equally valuable 

 their respective deparlmenls of manufacture ; whi 

 the carcass fetches the highest price with the grnzie 

 &c. 'I'hese two circumstances combined, produce 

 the farmer a more certain, and, on ihe whole, a be 

 ter remnnerotion than can possibly be gained by bree 

 ing the Merino. They arc, notwithstanding, a mc 

 valuable sheep, and yield a wool which, for finene 

 and felting properties, is unequalled ; and, thouf 

 literally given up in England, the Anglo-Merino mi 

 occasionally be found in high perfection. Lo 

 Western, ihtir especial polron, has paid every atte 

 liun to them and has considerably improved his floi 

 by a cross of the Saxony- Merino upon the original it 

 portation to England. This has been likewise tl 

 case with other breeders, not only in England, but 

 Ireland also, where they are said to have improvi 

 ralher than deteriorated. 



The importati .>n of the Merino into Sa.'sony, tot 

 place in 17(35 ; the Elector purchasing one hundn 

 rams and two hundred ewes, of the most improv 

 Spanish flocks, and placing them on one of his o*" 

 farms, near Dresden. The prejudice against inn 

 vation was strong, and the greatest difficulty preva 

 ed in inducing the sheep masters lo make any alu 

 alien in the systems which they hod imbibed. T 

 Elector, however, having assured himself that th 

 could he naturalized without any deterioration in I 

 quality of wool, look measures to earry out his vew 

 which seem unworthy so good a cause — be compell 

 those who occupied land under him, to buy a cent 

 number of Merino sheep. This compulsory systc 

 was happily of short duration ; the farmers genera 

 were brought to see their own interest ; the nauira 

 zation of the Merino in Saxony was perfected -, 1 

 breed rapidly increased ; and after a few years 1 

 fleece of the Saxony-Merino became superior in fit 

 ness and manufoctming properties, to that of t 

 Spanish. 



One of the greatest causes, however, to the prodi- 

 lion of such results, was education. The Electi 

 aware that nothing could he done where ignoron 

 prevailed, took the true and legitimate method of i 

 moving this obstacle ; and under the auspices ot i 

 government of Saxony, Ai» Agricdltural Schoc 

 and other minor schools, for shepherds, were eslt 

 lished ; ond publications, which ploinly and Intel 

 gibly explained the real value and proper managemei 

 not only of the Merino sheep, but of every other c 

 scripiion of domestic live-stock, were distributed. T 

 full acomplishmenl of his purpose, wos the Electo: 

 rewaid; and he had the gratification of knowing, tl 

 by this enlightened policy, he had assisted materia 

 informing the foundation of the weolih and the hopj 

 ness of his country. 



It is impossible to pass over this example, witho 

 calling the attention of .the farmers of America, 

 the most important of all subjects now agitating t 

 minds of the retieclive part of the agricultural popul 

 lion — I allude to the National Agricultural Associ 

 tion. Such results as those which have token pla 

 in Saxony, must necessarily follow a similar syste 

 in this couniry : and it behooves every man, who h 

 the least particle of palrotiem in his blood, to stai 

 forward at this time, ond give the necessary assisian 

 to this great National uadertaking. No man shou ' 



